Merja Rushe

Sales Executive

"Merja is a motivated, enthusiastic and goal-orientated International Sales and Client Manager with a proven track record and experience. People focused with strong business acumen. Motivational management style and client focused sales style with a record for building and retaining trusted relationships in a multicultural environment with clients and colleagues alike."

Special skills

•Leadership qualities necessary in multinational sales environment

•Business development and strategic account management

•Technical and solution sales management, development and execution

•Sales, marketing and customer strategy, sales models, sales and marketing alignment, target setting and KPI definition

•Planning and forecasting, sales channel and process optimisation

•Good understanding of various industries: telco & media, public, travel and transportation, consumer products, retail

•Good understanding of key technologies: Infrastructure & Cloud (on-prem, public, hybrid), AI, Security, Blockchain

Strengths

Client relationship: Strong ability to build, manage and maintain client relationships, trust and satisfaction (NPS) across multiple levels
Leadership & Coaching: Ability to lead, motivate, enable and empower diverse, multicultural teams to deliver results
New business development, Innovation & Pioneering: Building business from the ground up, new client acquisition
Focus & Result Orientation: Executing plans agreed in strategy
People skills: Strong emotional intelligence & effective listening, wide international network
Communication: Strong communication and negotiation skills, far-reaching social media presence and visibility

Relevant experience

Over 20 years of international experience in the ICT industry
Most describing positions/projects
- Sales Executive, Midagon
- Client Executive, IBM Mid-Market & Ecosystem management, IBM Finland
- Client Executive, & New Client Acquisition, Large Enterprise, IBM Finland•Cloud Digital Sales Manager, IBM Europe
- New start-up mission to drive high volume Cloud sales through digital channels across Europe
- Nordic Digital Sales Manager, Systems and Technology, IBM Nordic

Education

BBA, International Business Administration and Marketing, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Kuopio

Relevant strategic, leadership, sales and technical learning through career, e.g:

Insight Selling to the CxO, IBM – skills to disrupt the client's thinking and help apply new innovations to uncover opportunities
Business and Industry Insight, London Business School
Industry specific education and events (Retail, CPG, Telco, Media)
Coaching training program (www.lifecoachlab.com)